WHEN DREAM AND DAY UNITE

For my Dream Theater album ratings I will discuss each of my favorite and least favorite songs on the album and any other aspects of the album that either increases or decreases the final rating I have given the album.

When Dream and Day Unite is the 1989 album by Dream Theater and is a solid and very underrated album by the band. This album stands out from the other albums for two main reasons: 1. This is the only album with Dominici on vocals instead of James LaBrie. Personally I consider him to be a solid vocalist and I think his style fits a few songs very well but I certainly prefer LaBrie. Secondly, the production is not the best. This is very true and is unfortunate but one can still certainly appreciate the good songwriting within the album.

Some highlights include the fantastic opener "A Fortune in Lies" (1), the instrumental classic "The Ytse Jam" (2) and the mini epic "The Killing Hand" (3). Side two also has its moments with "Only a Matter of Time" (4) being the highlight.

(1) This track opens up the album and has a long instrumental opening showing off Petrucci and Portnoy's incredible instrumentation, as well as the rest of the band. Dominici's vocals fit this song nicely and its a fantastic opener overall. 9/10

(2) This is an instrumental and could fit very well in any of the albums that would follow in the next decade. Fantastic track and a concert staple. 9/10

(3) This song hits at what's to come, and although I think Dominici's vocals do not fit this song very well it is still one of the highlights of the album. 7.5/10

(4) This is a solid song written by Kevin Moore and a great way to close off the record. Sounds great on live albums with LaBrie's vocals. 8/10

"The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun" is probably the weakest song on the record but still a solid song overall. 5/10

Due to Dominici's vocals not fitting very well on about half of the songs and the poor production, this album is 3 stars instead of 4 stars for me.